


Familia Ante Omnia

by galaxyninjer



Category: Supernatural
Genre: All the hugs and cuddles too, Background Case, Castiel Takes Care of Sam Winchester, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Human Castiel (Supernatural), Hurt Sam Winchester, It's mentioned that he no longer has his grace, M/M, POV Sam Winchester, Sam Winchester Needs a Hug, Sam gets hexed by witches, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:00:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24785020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyninjer/pseuds/galaxyninjer
Summary: What happens when Sam gets hexed on a case? And Dean goes after the witches, leaving him and Cas at the motel? There's a raging storm outside and Sam is in pain. Fluff and Comfort Ensues."Hot tears pooled on his cheeks. The moisture was like a brand, pressing itself deeper and deeper into his skin. He screamed and reached for the bedsheets as the room began closing in on him. His eyes were screwed shut as his hold on reality spiralled...Sam couldn't remember the last time someone had simply held him. His heart swelled at the thought..."
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Castiel & Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 99





	Familia Ante Omnia

**Author's Note:**

> Hey... so I had a sudden urge to write some soft moments with the boys and have them cuddle. Hope you're having an awesome day and staying safe out there. The title, 'Familia Ante Omnia' is Latin and translates to, 'Family Over All.' I am in no way fluent in Latin. I saw it on Pinterest and thought it would be a fitting name.

Familia Ante Omnia 

There was a roaring wave of thunder outside. Piercing its way through the whirlwinds and pounding pitter-patter of the raging storm. Like oil barrels rolling down a hill, the clouds shook with vigour. Broken camera flashes of lightning washed over the room. Streaming in through the thin motel curtains, casting shadows over the floor. 

Sam startled awake. His head was pounding down on him, and a bone-deep chill was crawling up his shivering legs. He blinked twice, trying to regain some sense of composure. The last few hours came rushing back to him like a tidal wave swallowing a village whole. 

They were on a hunt. Witches. During the initial pursuit, he'd gotten hexed. Cas ran over to catch him and sprained his knee, tripping over an invisible hurdle they'd conjured. Dean benched them both. He booked the one available room they could find given the weather and told them to stay put. The receptionist had given them a remorseful look. There was only a single suite, one with a king-size bed, but it didn't matter. His legs were already giving way. 

Sam voiced his concern almost on queue when Dean wasted no time in repacking his hunting bag. He insisted that Dean should at least wait out the storm, but his brother was too stubborn. Dean wrapped him up in the thickest blanket the room had and told him to hang tight. As if going off to burn a coven to the ground was casual. Even for them, that can be tricky. 

Cas kept asserting that he was okay and should tag along despite his evident limp. His brother wasn't hearing it. He gave them both his, ' _I've got this under control look,'_ pressed a silent promise to be careful into Cas' temple with a kiss and left. 

_'How long was I out?'_ ' _Not long enough,'_ he thought. He didn't remember falling asleep. The hex was still up and kicking. Biting back a cry, he curled himself into a ball when another wave of pain rippled through him. Hot tears pooled on his cheeks. The moisture was like a brand, pressing itself deeper and deeper into his skin. He screamed and reached for the bedsheets as the room began closing in on him. His eyes screwed shut as his hold on reality spiralled. 

He heard a door slam open. The shower he hadn't realised was on cut off and then the call of Cas' frantic voice, "Sam!" The stabbing behind his eyes stopped as he tried to focus on Cas and not the burning under his skin. Wet feet ran across the wooden floor and there was clattering as a duffel bag fell to the floor. The mattress dipped and a clammy hand was on his face, the other pushing his bangs out of his eyes. The cool touch was welcoming. He could've sobbed in relief. 

"Sam. You're burning up. Dammit. I thought you fell asleep. I'm sorry, I- Hold on." He dared to open his eyes. Found that while the room was still going around him in circles, his tunnel of vision was fine. Cas was half-emptying Dean's and his clothes on the rug. He was wearing nothing but a bathrobe, hair wet and plastered to his skin. Sam noticed red swelling around his knee and shin from their earlier run-in with the witches. _Ouch._

An unsure grimace formed on his face as he pulled out a faded orange bandana. Worry painted itself all over his narrowed blue eyes. Cas sighed, before disappearing back into the bathroom. He tried for his voice, only to find his tongue heavy and cottony. A small groan escaped him as he tugged the blankets closer to his chest. Trying to breathe slowly failed and he ended up half-choking on the fourth out-breath. His line of vision fell, plunging him into the darkness of his mind.

-

Someone had repositioned him in bed. There was a hand carding through his hair and the feel of a wet cloth draped across his forehead when he next came to. The logical part of his brain knew it was Cas. They were alone and his persistent pain was a sign enough that Dean was still out on the hunt. A rush of dizziness came over him and for a brief moment, he got worried. ' _What if Dean can't find the coven? What then?'_ No. It was the fear and pain talking, he scolded himself. ' _Dean will never give up on his family, on him.'_ They've been through far worse, no hex was going to be his undoing. ' _I'm stronger than this,'_ he thought.

He felt like a little kid again, catching the flu while dad was out on another hunt. At times, they'd end up staying at the same motel for weeks during winter. Sam always knew that Dean was a worrier. It was all part of his over-protective older brother/care-taker persona. And while Sam loved his brother, he hated to see him worked up. He'd often hide his sickness from Dean as best he could until things got out of hand. When they did, and he began burning up like now, his brother would be there. Giving him a disapproving-but-not-quite glare before tucking him in. Cans of chicken soup, Star Wars marathons and just-enough drug store meds later and he'd be as good as new. 

Part of him tried to speak-up, to reassure his best friend that he was doing better. Not okay, but as he lost himself in thought, he knew. He was no longer shaking and the headache was less of a pounding under his eyelids. His train of consciousness had other plans and the last thing he registered was Cas' voice in a low whisper. "You're safe. You're going to be okay..."

-

The next, well, he couldn't be too sure. Slipping in and out of consciousness without remembering was common with witch hexes.

When _he next_ recalled trying to open his eyes, his vision had cleared and he was no longer in pain. Apart from the sleepiness holding onto him, he was alright. ' _Dean must've gotten to those witches,'_ he thought, _'the hex was gone.'_

Sam turned to warmth and found himself tucked face-first atop Cas' lap. His face was cushioned by a bunched-up blanket. Cas was sitting up against the padded headboard, head tipped back, humming to himself. There was no way of knowing if Cas had realised that he was up.

Cas' hand hadn't left his hair. It was soothing. A comfort he melted under as he shut his eyes, choosing to relish the moment. Without saying a word, Cas shuffled down the bed to lie down as opposed to sitting up, taking Sam with him. He realised that he didn't need to say anything else or ask, as Cas moved over enough for him to settle back on his lap. 

Part of him was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It should've been weird, getting held like that, _like a child,_ his brain supplied. To find comfort falling asleep on his best friend's lap. Yes, Cas was family. Always will be, but he was also Dean's boyfriend. Sam wasn't part of their lovey-dovey moments. Yet, it felt right. He'd come to love Cas in the same way that he loved Dean. _'It's okay,'_ he thought, _'I'm allowed to have this.'_

Sam couldn't remember the last time someone had simply held him. His heart ached at the thought. They stayed there for what could've been hours, listening to the steady pattering of rain. 

\- 

Between a state of sleep and content exhaustion, he heard the door click open. Then there was the flopping of wet boots as they dropped to the floor in an otherwise quiet room. ' _Guess Cas fell asleep too,'_ he thought.

A belt unbuckling. A sigh of relief. A bag zipping closing. A chuckle. 

The shower humming back to life. Distant, yet present. 

Dean was safe. He made it back.

-

The bed dipped again. Sam found that he couldn't pull together the consciousness to finish waking up, much less move. 

"Hey, Sunshine."

"Hello, Dean." Cas' voice echoed with relief.

"I'm gone for one night and you're already replacing me?" Dean teased.

Cas' laugh was light and his hand left Sam's hair, "Maybe."

"How is he?" Dean asked, concern seeping through each word. 

"Better. He got a fever and was burning up as he slept. It - I got scared, Dean. He was shaking and I could see how much pain he was in, but I couldn't do anything to help him. I -" 

"Shhhh. Cas, sweetheart. Look at me." A pause, " _I know you._ I know that you'd have done your best to help him through it. We all know how hexes are." Dean sighed. He felt the mattress shifting as he moved closer to Cas and said, "The kid's stronger than we give him credit for."

"Dean. Sam is 37, he's far from a kid, but yes. I knew that he'd pull through till you killed the witches. Didn't stop me from worrying though."

"Sammy will always be a kid to me. He's not just my brother, I raised him. And you worrying only shows how much you care." Cas hummed in agreement, as another roar of thunder cut through the rain.

"The cuddling shocked me for a minute, not gonna lie," he felt the back of Dean's hand brushing across his shoulder. "But I'm glad he trusts you this much. I'm the only other person he let's get this close to him when he's sick. I know that much..." Dean's voice trailed off. Sam felt his breath hitch, Dean was right. He couldn't think of anyone else in his life that he'd trust to hold him in such a state. 

"Sammy? Hey. Are you awake?" 

He blinked awake, rolling over unceremoniously on feeling Dean's hand on his arm. His arms landed flat and sprawled out over the bed. 'At least we've got a king-size bed,' he thought. Head falling in the mess of blankets, he rubbed the heel of his hand over his eyes. 

"D-dean?" his throat was rough with misuse. Cas smiled down at him, Dean curled into his side. He's holding himself up on his elbows and the line of Cas' body, hands outreached towards him. 

Reaching across the bed for a hug was a clash of limbs and tangling blankets. They ended up trapping Cas between them. Cas' smile was small and effortless when they pulled back. _One reserved for them._ Dean moved to sit on his lap and Sam couldn't help rolling his eyes at the sight. 

"Are you okay Sam?" 

"Yeah, guys. I'm good. Kinda cold, but otherwise everything's passed." He paused to swallow, "Thanks, Dean."

His brother gave him a nod and said, "Glad to hear that you're alright Sammy. Those witches were a pain to chase down, but I had them the minute they let their guard down." He smirked with success and Sam couldn't find it in himself to quip back. 

Cas huffed and grabbed at Dean's waist, pulling him to his side in one swift motion. His grace was long gone, but he'd kept his strength up by hunting and training in the bunker. 

Happy as they all were in the moment, Sam wished that he was back home when Dean leaned in for a kiss. Cas' response must've been muscle memory. He grabbed at Dean's thigh, tugging him closer. As cute as those two were, there were some things he did not need to see. He couldn't begin to count the number of times they'd forgotten that he was in the room with them. 

Clearing his throat he threw his hands up. Cas pulled back and moved to press his lips into Dean's hair. His brother blushed before settling his head against the crook of Cas' neck. 

"If the three of us are sharing this bed tonight. Hands-off. Or I'm leaving. I don't care if it's storming outside," he said, trying to keep his tone flat and determined.

Dean chuckled and Cas shot him a disapproving glare with no real bite to it. "Sorry, Sam," he said. "We'll keep our hands to ourselves. Won't we Dean?" 

"Yes, yes. He's been through enough for one day." Cas nodded, "We should get some sleep if we're planning on driving home in the morning." Dean made an uncomprehensive noise he couldn't decipher. Cas reached over him and turned off the side lamp. 

Shuffling around they managed to settle themselves into comfortable sleeping positions. Cas' head was being pillowed by his arm as he moved around the pillows to lie on his side. Dean was clinging onto Cas, arms wrapped around his waist, legs tangled. Cas wrapped an arm protectively over Dean while the other fell at his side. It was an open invitation to lean in. 

Sam grinned down at their sleeping forms and moved closer. ' _Who knew what tomorrow would bring,'_ he thought. ' _If I'd ever get such a chance again. To cuddle with and hold onto the two people I love the most.'_ Drifting off to sleep once more, he realised that he was home. There was nowhere he'd rather be, nowhere _they'd_ rather be. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed reading do let me know. All mistakes are my own (I wrote this in one sitting) I do appreciate you giving my story a go. Thank you for reading :)
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://galaxycastiel.tumblr.com/)


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